French Arias and Khatchaturian Postponed

Deborah Bertling (Soprano) earned her Bachelor of Arts degree at Bob Jones University, Greenville, SC. She also earned a certificate at American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Los Angeles. She has performed in dozens of operas, plays, and concerts throughout California, most recently in Gianni Schicchi and Suor Angelica with Opera Santa Barbara. She is President of Performing Arts Scholarship Foundation, 1st Vice President of Community Arts Music Association, music docent in local elementary schools and mentor with Royal Family Kids. She will appear in the world premiere full-length feature film, Mirror Of My Soul, March of 2017. www.deborahmarksbertling.com

Neil Di Maggio, pianist, enjoys a dual career as solo and collaborative pianist and as a researcher for Westmont College. His performing career has taken him from California to Phoenix to New York City, and he recently served on the faculty of the Westmont Academy for Young Artists. He earned his BM Degree, summa cum laude, from San Jose State University, MM Degree from the San Francisco Conservatory, and MM Degree in Collaborative Piano from UCSB, studying with Paul Berkowitz Anne Epperson, and Yael Weiss. Currently Director of Research in the Office of College Advancement at Westmont, Neil maintains a private piano studio, and his students are frequent award winners with the Santa Barbara Music Club and the Performing Arts Scholarship Foundation competitions.

Per Elmfors, clarinetist, was born in Sweden and earned his PhD in Physics from Chalmers Institute of Technology (Gothenburg, Sweden). An avid chamber musician, his emphasis has been on performing with string and woodwind ensembles. He is currently Principle Clarinet in the SBCC Symphony, and also plays in several chamber music ensembles. Dr. Elmfors moved to Santa Barbara in 2010, and is a Senior Systems Engineer at FLIR Systems.

Robert Hale, pianist, holds a degree in piano performance from Southern Illinois University. After working in arts administration, including Toronto’s Roy Thomson Hall, the Rochester Philharmonic, the Syracuse Symphony, and the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, he changed careers to software development. Robert studies piano with Zeynep Ucbasaran and plays chamber music with friends and colleagues in the Santa Barbara area.

Renée Hamaty, pianist, has performed worldwide as soloist and collaborative pianist. She majored in music at Occidental College, studying with Aube Tzerko, and has concertized widely as vocal and instrumental accompanist, including collaboration with Leonard Bernstein in West Coast premieres (Candide and Mass) and Stephen Sondheim in Chicago and Los Angeles. For fifteen years she was Music Director and pianist for “Opera & Broadway Under the Stars” concerts at Arts & Letters Cafe in Santa Barbara, and served as vocal faculty pianist for the Music Academy of the West’s 2013 MERIT program. In addition to her active piano collaborating schedule, Renée teaches private piano students of all ages in her Santa Barbara studio.

Kristi Holstein, violinist, was born in Charleston, West Virginia and began playing violin at age 7. She received her BM Degree, Summa Cum Laude, from West Virginia University and her MM Degree from the University of Texas at Arlington. A member of the American String Teachers Association, National Association for Music Educators, American Chamber Music Society and Society of Music Theory, she is currently a teaching artist with BRAVO! and Santa Barbara Strings and a member of the American Youth Symphony, Folk Orchestra of Santa Barbara, Lompoc Pops Orchestra, Opera San Luis Obispo, Santa Maria Philharmonic Society, and Young Musicians Foundation Debut Chamber Orchestra and maintains a private violin and viola studio in Santa Barbara.

Han Soo Kim, violinist, is an award-winning and internationally accomplished artist who has performed to critical acclaim in numerous countries on four continents. Dr. Kim has concertized extensively as solo performer, duo-recitalist and chamber musician. In the United States, he has performed in some of the nation’s most prominent venues including Alice Tully Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, Boston Symphony Hall, Weill Recital Hall and Isaac Stern Auditorium at Carnegie Hall, Cutler Majestic Theater, Jordan Hall, Kaufmann Concert Hall, and The Kennedy Center. Performances have also led him to institutions and festivals including Académie Internationale de Courchevel, Boston Conservatory, Columbia University, Le Domaine Forget International Music Festival, The Juilliard School, Longy School of Music, Manhattan School of Music, Mannes College, Meadowmount School of Music, Morningside Music Bridge, Musicorda, New England Conservatory, and Stony Brook University. He has appeared as soloist with orchestras in the US and abroad performing standard concertos to contemporary world premieres. As a Promessa Records Artist he has released Encore Favori, a solo CD featuring a dozen encores and virtuosic showpieces, and will be recording the next album in 2021. He is Founder and the violinist of The Finehouse-Kim-Yhee Trio.
Dr. Kim has earned his Doctor of Musical Arts in violin performance under a fellowship grant. His Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees in violin performance are from The Juilliard School where he was a merit scholarship recipient. His influential teachers and mentors include Roman Totenberg, Sally Thomas, and Pamela Frank. He has worked with distinguished chamber music artists including Emerson, Guarneri, Juilliard, and Orion String Quartets. He is a Bella Rosins Artist and performs on a Carlo Antonio Testore of 1721. His CDs can be purchased at the Westmont College bookstore and hanjoannekim.com. In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with his wife, son Kian and dog Dolce, exploring restaurants in Santa Barbara, playing pool, and gardening.